Wrong turns and teamwork define Cape Epic Stage 5
Early attacks deliver different results in men's and women's racing
Photo by:
Sam Clark/Cape Epic
Teamwork and wrong turns defined stage 5 of the Cape Epic on Friday. This thrilling 2022 edition of the South African stage race continues to deliver the unexpected.
Men: wrong turns and new opportunities
After a few successful days on the bike, Speed Company Racing attacked from Friday’s opening climb. The German duo of Lucas Baum and Georg Egger worked up a solid advantage over the chasing pack. Unfortunately, that meant there was no one around when they took a wrong turn. The pair chased back, but the effort would cost them later on.
At the front, it was South African duo Pieter du Toit and Marco Joubert (Imbuko Dev) takeing their turn to go on the offensive. The pair, sitting 40 minutes back in the overall, held on to take the stage win by two minutes.
“This is just a surreal feeling,” said Marco Joubert. “Halfway into the stage there were two climbs where I was nearly dropped, but I managed to hang in, and we pushed on. It’s unreal and totally unexpected. I’m so happy with that ride.”
Canyon Northwave crosses second, protecting their overall Cape Epic lead. Christopher Blevins and Matt Beers (Toyota-NinetyOne-Specialized) follow close behind in third. After the early effort, Speed Company trail across the line in fourth, sacrificing second in the overall standings to Specialized by a scant eight seconds.
“That was a good ride. I’m happy for the boys,” Beers said of seeing his countrymen take Friday’s stage win. “It’s important that South African riders win stages of the Absa Cape Epic.”
Women: a coordinated attack
With three major climbs on the day, it was surprising to see the race leaders attack from the start gun. Haley Batten and Sofia Gomez-Villafane (NinetyOne-Specialized-Songo) and Faces Rola’s Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss worked together from start until near the finish. The effort distanced the world-class pair of Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Robyn de Groot (BMC)
Specialized would put in an extra injection of speed to take the stage win, their second at this year’s Cape Epic.
“That was such an awesome effort by the four of us,” said Batten. “After that, it was like we were one four-
women team!”
“On paper that course looked pretty tough,” said Sofia Gómez Villafane, “but for some reason, we kept it pretty fast from the start. We don’t know the trails that well, so the whole time we were thinking ‘where do we make our move, where do we attack’. On the final climb, we just went as hard as we could and held on.”
Private Client Holdings made their own attack, riding solo in third for much of the stage.
Amy Wakefield and Ariane Lüthi fight to hold their spot on GC. Photo Sam Clark/Cape Epic
Pauline Ferrand Prévot and Robyn De Groot work through an off-day after Thursday's stage win. Photo Sam Clark/Cape Epic
Ferrand-Prevot and de Groot stay true to their pattern of alternating victories and struggles. After winning a third Cape Epic stage on Thursday, the BMC duo faded on Friday. Finishing in fourth, 15:52 behind the day’s winners, they slide to third overall from second on Thursday. They now have 11:10 to make up to re-claim second.
The French-South African duo was not the only pair losing time on Friday. After a strong start to the week, Symbtech ZA’s Ariane Luthi and Amy Wakefield struggled to fifth, 19 minutes back. They’re now holding onto fourth, just ahead of the surging Private Client Holdings pair.
